In today’s paper we have three stories about seemingly real discussions taking place — or about to take place — between our local governments about ways they can actually, notably work together. And we’d add a fourth possible collaboration that we previously reported to suggest a trend that the message has finally gotten through that local taxpayers want costs capped through intergovernmental collaboration.
Here’s the roster:
- District 200, stuck with aging and possibly obsolete swimming pools — by obsolete we mean the state says diving boards are no longer allowable — has hired a consultant to study options for the pools. The consultant’s study will include discussions with the Park District of Oak Park over possible shared use of indoor pool facilities.
- Oak Park built a $30 million temple to public works over on South Boulevard a few years ago. Discussions with the parks about sharing the space with the buildings department of the park district didn’t work out because of space constraints. Now, though, District 97 is in talks with the village about shifting its maintenance and storage into public works from a decrepit warehouse on Madison. That would allow the building at Scoville Avenue to be sold.
- The parks and D97 are in discussions to shift the school’s central offices (from another clunker of a building on Madison Street) into the park’s administration building, further east on Madison. Then another prime corner on Madison could be sold.
- And there are, again, whispers of talks starting in River Forest about some sort of consolidation of fire departments locally. With the cost of fire apparatus, the duplication of administrators and the possibility of closing a firehouse or two, the savings could be substantial, and the impact on fire safety would be negligible.
This is well beyond the usual pipe dreams of saving money on shared purchasing of toilet paper or joint copy machine leases. These are real efforts to share and sacrifice for the benefit of the people paying the bills — while doing no damage to service levels. We offer nothing but encouragement.
